


Some Kind of Future

by PertPeeve



Category: Thor (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Angst, Eating Disorders, Hurt/Comfort, Loki Feels, Loki is a sarcastic brat, Loki-centric, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-08-07 20:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7728487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PertPeeve/pseuds/PertPeeve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki hadn't asked for these powers. He didn't want them. He'd had a promising future to look forward to, and now he was looking at enrolment in a school for the future-less. Xavier and his students might try and persuade him otherwise, but it's not a simple thing to shrug away the past.</p><p>(In which Loki and Thor are mutants. Set in the First Class/Apocalypse years of Xavier's school. Tags will be added as I go!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“The area's quite lovely, isn't it?”

It was the third such statement in under an hour, and was no more convincing than its predecessors: 'this is a nice road', 'the trees are very pretty this time of year', and 'such beautiful countryside, don't you think?'

But no amount of colourful trees, sweeping pastures, or handsome stone walls were about to change Loki's mind. He was a young genius well on the road to a grand future at a prestigious school, no shortage of ambition to keep him moving forward and so close to being free of the troglodytes and drooling masses of bullies and naysayers that dogged him throughout grade school. Or, rather, that was all quite applicable a few years ago. Before his life had flipped ass over teakettle and tumbled straight off an eleventh-floor balcony.

He was seventeen now. He would miss graduation, and he'd bowed out of applying to his favoured post-secondary institutions. Too dangerous. Too dangerous for the other students, and with the state of the world, possibly even more dangerous for himself.

That's what they'd told him. He'd been willing to give it his best go. He'd still wanted to be given that opportunity to prove he could maintain control. With no incidents for weeks, he'd begged them down to within an inch of agreement. And in a moment of weakness his hopes for normality were blown apart.

Loki felt his chest constrict with the memory. Campfires, meteor showers, and devastation.

“Tell me what you're thinking, Loki.”

Green eyes lifted. He caught his mother's gaze in the rear-view mirror.

“Just overcome with how _lovely_ the area is,” he replied, following his statement with a slick smile.

“Loki.”

“Have you ever seen a tree quite that _orange?_ ”

Frigga sighed and turned her attention back to the road. There was no use in pushing him now. The last thing she wanted was a fight before they said their temporary farewells.

“I only want you to be happy and safe, my love.”

Loki breathed out sharply from his nose, then stilled. He wasn't completely resentful. If he trusted anyone to speak truthfully to him, it was his mother. He wasn't angry with Frigga. He was angry with himself. He was angry with the world. He was angry with nature; with humans for daring to evolve and dragging him along for the ride.

“If I wanted to turn us around right now, I could,” Loki said simply. “And I haven't.”

Frigga felt a chill. She supposed that was as much as she could hope for.

 

* * *

 

They pulled past the gate, Loki briefly catching the name of the institute on an unassuming sign. The estate loomed large over the perfectly manicured lawn as they pulled closer. Loki saw brief glimpses of children and teenagers out on the grounds, but they didn't strike him as being altogether special. It looked like any other boarding school, if a bit secluded.

No one was awaiting their arrival when they parked. Loki stalled until his mother was out of the car and making her way to the door before he took a shuddering breath and stepped outside. He felt a rush to his head and rubbed his temples. He was trying very hard to play it cool but his heart was racing. He swallowed, his throat dry, and stepped around the car.

“Are you a new student?”

Loki nearly jumped free of his skin when the voice sounded next to his ear. He turned and locked eyes with a blue demon, which did nothing to calm him. Clenching his fists, he found that he could do little more than nod, and couldn't control the way his lip curled at the sudden physical reminder of where he was.

But the yellow-eyed teenager didn't seem bothered. He extended a hand— _of course it had three fingers, icing on the uncanny cake_ —and smiled.

“My name is Kurt Wagner,” the boy said, German accent now entirely obvious, “I am happy to meet you, ah...?

“Loki,” the other finally managed, though he found he had to clear his throat to get the rest out. “Odinson.”

To his credit, he managed to shake the boy's hand. He was familiar enough with schoolyard jerks not to be an ass to someone who clearly fell into that oft-tread and unforgiving category of 'not like everyone else'. The lanky blue teen beamed at the returned gesture, which curled the corner of Loki's mouth into something like a smile.

“Odinson! You are Thor's brother? Wunderbar!”

“Yes. Isn't it though.”

Kurt looked past the now frowning Loki. “Und zhis is your Mutter, ja?”

Frigga was walking back from the door. Loki could tell she was also mildly startled by Kurt's appearance, but she was making a far more convincing effort of appearing polite and oblivious—right up until the blue teen disappeared in a clap of dark smoke and materialized again next to her.

“Oh!” Frigga jumped, hand on her heart, but was all smiles as soon as the German boy had taken said hand into his own. He again introduced himself. Frigga nodded back. “Lovely to meet you, Kurt. I'm Frigga. Should I leave my car here, or...?”

“I vill find zhe professor!” Kurt grinned before vanishing with the same explosive cloud left in his place.

Loki meandered up to Frigga, long arms folded at his back. He gave his mother a sarcastic grin.

“I suppose the power of punctuality takes a backseat to mind-reading and walking through walls.”

Frigga took him by his bony shoulders, pulling him closer. “Oh hush. Thor says he loves it here.”

“Throw enough mindless followers into the mix and Thor would thrive in a Wal-Mart parking lot.”

 

* * *

 

Henry McCoy had grown more acquainted with the little devil's means of coming and going, but Kurt still managed to startle him when the scientist was deep in thought. This had been one of those instances, the teleporter locating him in one of the common areas as Hank perused a medical journal, eliciting a sort of beastly roar of surprise. Kurt had been looking for the professor, but with Xavier currently preoccupied with one of the slightly more... classified of the institute's programs, Hank was now making his way to greet the new arrival.

The doctor was somewhat familiar with Loki's file. The boy was seventeen, sibling to one of their current students, and had been involved in an incident that had spurred his family to seek his enrollment. There had been some medical issues, if he recalled... Hank opened the folder to refresh his memory, narrowing his eyes at some of the unsavoury details.

This wouldn't be an easy one, but then they never really were, he supposed.

He opened the door to find the boy waiting just outside. He recognized Frigga from Thor's first day and a few of the family functions.

“Mrs. Odinsin, nice to see you again,” Hank smiled, shaking her hand. “And—“

“And I must be Loki,” the boy gave a quick but emotionless smile, keeping his hands behind his back.

Hank released an awkward chuckle, catching Frigga's exasperated gaze. He took a moment to look Loki over, and was admittedly confused by the lack of similarities to the Odinson brother he'd already gotten to know quite well. Loki's hair was perfectly black to Thor's golden blond, and though both were tall, Loki was all gangling bony limbs where Thor was muscled and generally enormous for his age. Loki was pale in an almost sickly way, and held himself as though trying very hard to shrink from the world.

The teen tried to hold Hank's gaze, but faltered when he felt the same old scrutiny. Loki knew the man had probably been won over instantly by his jovial, outgoing, perfect brother. He'd probably been excited to welcome another boisterous golden Odinson to the ranks of mutant academia, only to be railroaded by the ungainly nerd standing before him.

 

Hank noticed the sudden change in Loki's demeanor and tried to recover.

“Well then, how about a tour?”

 

* * *

 

Though he went into it with a certain determination to hate whatever he saw, Loki had to give credit where it was due. The building was beautiful, and the facilities were impressive. The occasional student with physical mutations or the open use of a power gave him pause, and the general air of... mellowed freedom was something one wouldn't expect from most reputable schools, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The students did seem generally... happy.

But were they fooling themselves? What good was a solid education if they stood no chance of getting a decent job? Of fulfilling their dreams and living a normal life? With the same credentials, given the choice between a harmless human and a mutant with potentially destructive abilities, no one in their right mind would choose the latter. This all seemed like a fancy playhouse for the deluded.

But then, he'd lost his chance at anything else. 'Normal' was no longer an option.

Feeling sullen now, Thor chose the absolute worst time to grab Loki into a crushing embrace.

“Brother! Here at last!”

“Thor! Stop! Let me _down!_ ”

Thor's hold would be unbreakable even if he weren't a mutant. Loki squirmed, feeling an energy buzzing far too close to the surface. No. Not now. Not on his first day. _Hold it in check!_

“ _Please_ , Thor!”

Noting the sudden desperation in his brother's tone, Thor set Loki back on the floor, apologetically ruffling his long black hair. Loki shrunk back, holding his chest and averting his eyes. Frigga stepped forward to give her oldest a hug. Ignoring the previous moment of awkwardness, a huge smile spread across Thor's face as he pulled a few other students close.

“Mother, Loki, I'd like you to meet some of my friends!”

Loki tuned out the introductions, which seemed to go on forever. Of course Thor had befriended every living thing within a 10-kilometre radius. And here Loki was, staring at his feet, looking all the more undesirable by comparison. Thor might as well have been publicly listing the names of people Loki was sure to disappoint within the week.

“... who goes by Cyclops, and this is Ororo Munroe, who goes by Storm. You'll need a nickname too, Loki! Something to do with your powers, so maybe, ah, the Wizard or the Conjurer, or Shockwave—!”

“And what is yours, Thor?” Loki hissed, putting an end to his brother's tirade before it raised too many questions. “Hardhead? Superjock? The Golden Goon?”

That got him a few smiles, but didn't deter Thor, who puffed out his chest. “The God of Thunder.”

Loki curled his lip in disgust as Thor high-fived a silver-haired young man with a pair of goggles strapped to the top of his head.

 _Please just kill me now._ Loki shook his head in defeat and turned away.

“ _We don't kill students on their first day, Loki.”_

The raven-haired teen stiffened, looking left and right for the source of the voice which he knew had come from within his own head. He immediately threw up his defences. The last thing he wanted was someone peering into his thoughts.

The group turned as a rather young-looking man in a wheelchair approached them from down the hall. Loki narrowed his eyes. He knew without asking that this was the esteemed Professor Charles Xavier, and he was instantly on edge. He knew what the man could do, and nothing scared him more.

“Good afternoon, professor!” Thor smiled.

Xavier nodded to the group of students, said hello again to Frigga, and then turned his attention to Loki. The boy stared, both threatened and intrigued. He took a half step back. The wheelchair-bound professor smiled, and there was no hint of malice or trickery there. Loki would know.

“Hank, why don't you take a few students and help Mrs. Odinson bring Loki's things up to his room. I'd like to have a chat with our newest student,” his eyes darted again to the youth, “if that's all right with you, Loki?”

Loki didn't trust so easily, but he was also determined not to show fear.

“Of course,” he said, following the man back down the corridor.

Xavier's office was unsurprisingly on the main floor, everything organized and spaced in such a way as to be accessible to and roomy enough for a man stuck in a wheelchair. Loki took a chair in front of the man's desk, which sat in front of a huge window overlooking the lawn and gardens. A group of children were kicking a ball around amidst the trees. It all seemed perfectly charming, but Loki kept his guards up.

Charles followed the boys eyes to the kids outside and smiled. “I do sometimes take for granted just what a lovely place it is.”

Loki snorted. “My mother would agree with you there.”

“And you?”

The teen felt himself being prodded again, though he couldn't tell if the professor was attempting to use his powers or if the man's stare just had a way of seeing through a person.

“There's nothing wrong with the building or the grounds. It's all very impressive.”

“But?”

“But,” Loki tried to hide his hesitance with a smile. “But it's all a bit of a lie, isn't it? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good prank more than most, but is it fair to lead them all on like this?”

If Xavier found that statement insulting, he didn't show it. “And how is it a lie? Do mutants not deserve a chance at a better future?”

“Mutants have no future.”

The professor sat back with a bit of a frown. “I'm sorry to hear you feel that way. But you're not alone. The world has made many mutants feel that way. My hope is to prove them wrong.”

Loki couldn't help but scoff at that a little. “That would take some power indeed.”

Xavier smiled. He turned his attention to the desk, opening a folder in front of him. Loki saw his name at the top of an assortment of papers. He visibly tensed.

“There isn't an agreed-upon categorization for your powers yet. They're rare, as mutant abilities go. I like to call it energy manipulation, but I suppose the more exciting term is magic.”

“A few decades ago this was all just _magic_ ,” Loki came back.

“True enough!” Charles laughed, “please tell me more about what you can do.”

Loki again hesitated. He was never open about his powers. They had cost him so much. They had destroyed his life. He was in no way proud of what he could do, or what... he had done.

“As you said. I can manipulate energy,” Loki spoke into his lap, fingers pinching at the fabric of his jeans. “I can force things away. I can bring things to me...”

Xavier continued to watch him. When Loki didn't continue, the professor pointed a finger at his file. “You can do much more than that.”

“I suppose. I haven't experimented. I can... create illusions, I guess. I can go where I want in an instant. I can hide things between space and bring them back again. I've... healed wounds, on occasion.”

Loki looked especially uncomfortable at that admission. Charles waited, but did not press.

“I think I can fly.”

“You think you can?”

“I feel that it would be possible, if I tried. If I wanted to. That's the thing, professor. I have no interest in using these powers. I never asked for them. I don't _want_ them.”

“Might that have been different if not for the explosion?”

Loki paled, which was a considerable feat. He sat back rigidly in his chair. How dare he. How _dare_ he bring that up here.

“I think I've seen enough,” Loki frowned, standing up from his chair. “With all due respect, professor, I don't believe this school is what I'm looking for.”

“ _This school is what you need.”_

“Don't!” Loki turned, not hiding his anger now. “Stay out of my head. Please.”

“I apologize. Loki, I would ask that you give my school a chance. I have reason to believe that what happened to you was a result of inexperience. Possibly even due to you actively repressing your powers. I would like to work with you so that nothing like that will ever happen again.”

Loki's glare faltered only a little. “A week.”

“A month. Please. And I promise not to project my thoughts into your own.”

Loki stared for a moment, going over the possibilities in his mind. What were the alternatives? Where else would he go? It was this or a life on the run, which didn't sound altogether terrible in his current state of despair, but it also felt like failure.

“I believe you have a future, Loki,” Charles said, eyes softening. “I would like to help you shape it properly.”

The skinny teen bowed his head, returning to his seat.

“A month, then.”

Xavier smiled. There were pages more to Loki's file, but he closed the folder for now. Much had to be addressed before the boy could flourish, but it had to start with small steps. Charles wheeled himself out from behind his desk and extended a hand.

“Well then. Welcome to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki says goodbye to his mother and gets to know his new roommate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blurrrgh, sorry this chapter took so long to finish, and that nothing really happens. I immediately hit a wall with this fic and couldn't decide where to go with it. I think I've got some vague ideas now (but requests are totally welcome too). I AM enjoying Loki and Kurt as potential super best friends (maybe more, who knows), which hadn't been the initial plan, but I don't make the rules. Let's see where this goes...

Loki grasped the handle of the door to his new room and steadied his breathing as he pushed it open. He hoped it would be terribly inadequate. He hoped it would be a cramped, worn, filthy mess, filled with too many roommates and no windows and bad lighting and a smell that permeated but the source for which could never be found.

“Loki!” his mother rose from the huge four-poster bed where she had been sorting some of his books. “How was your meeting with Professor Xavier?”

The dark-haired teen heaved a sigh. The room was enormous, immaculate, with high wide windows and more than enough storage for all of his belongings. It smelled of rich wood and freshly laundered linens. It was everything he would have wanted in his own room.

_God-dammit._

Loki forced a tight smile. “Inspiring,” he said. “Certainly not contrived in any way.”

“He's a kind man who is doing his best,” Frigga sighed, motioning for Loki to join her.

Loki closed the gap between them with a few long strides and stood next to the bed. “Could he not very easily convince you all of that? He was born with a power perfectly suited for scamming.”

Frigga raised a brow. “Do you feel you've been scammed?”

“No,” Loki lifted one of the books and idly flipped through the pages. “Inconvenienced, perhaps. I've given him a month.”

Frigga looked as though she wanted to say something at that; to argue hers and Xavier's case and assure him once again that this was all for the best. Loki kept his green eyes on her, and they both knew what the other was thinking without the luxury of psychic powers. After a moment, Frigga nodded and placed her hands on his upper arms.

“Just... be open to their help.”

Loki lost the fight against rolling his eyes as he took a stack of the books and moved them to a nearby bookshelf. Frigga followed him, adding a few more, already carefully organized to her son's tastes.

“Make some friends,” she added with a smile.

“Oh I'm very good at that.” Loki grinned, waving a slender hand. Several copies of himself appeared across the room. After a moment of stifled unease it was Frigga's turn to roll her eyes.

She pinched his ear. “And behave yourself.”

Loki gave a genuine laugh at that. “Good lord. Never.”

Frigga tried to ruffle his hair but Loki dodged. She took him by the jaw and planted a kiss on his forehead before heading for the door. When she turned back, he stood next to his new bed, his carefully-honed tough, assertive guise fading enough for her to see the rattled, anxious boy beneath. Her eyes roved over his gaunt face, fell to his slender arms folded hidden at his back. The longer the moment lasted, the more effort Loki threw into appearing composed and unaffected.

“Goodbye, mother,” Loki said, his voice now clipped. “I'm sure I'll be seeing you again very soon.”

Frigga lowered her gaze, turned, and quietly left.

 

* * *

 

 

Loki had stood for a long time at one of the windows following his mother's departure. He watched students coming and going across the grounds. Some were very young. Others were closer to his own age. He found himself wondering how the school functioned. Would he choose a field of study as he might have in any other university, or were his classes to be reduced to a spectrum of subjects all detailing “How to Survive Where You Don't Belong”?

His thoughts were starting to swirl into a void of negativity he always found difficult to escape, but as luck would have it, Thor and his friends—with all of their extra-special nicknames—chose that moment to step into his line of sight. He could see his bother gesturing wildly, no doubt regaling his entourage with a highly embellished story of his exploits and adventures.

_Which one is it, Thor?_ Loki pondered. _The day you rescued an angry cat from its own front yard, or that time you bravely endured a series of deadly goose bites defending your distraught and unarmed Subway sandwich?_

Loki smiled, focusing on Thor's feet. With barely a nudge of his power, the feet gave a sudden lurch. Thor flew forward into the grass, where Loki made sure someone's abandoned, soggy lunch ( _balogne? No, no, liverwurst!_ ) was awaiting his face.

The raven-haired teen grinned as Thor's friends reacted with a combination of laughter and concern, eventually closing in to help the big lug to his feet. Loki ducked away from the window when Thor began searching for an excuse for his clumsiness.

Loki chuckled and crossed back to where his suitcases had been stacked next to his bed, and where there now stood a gangly blue teenager with yellow eyes.

His heart leapt into his throat but Loki managed not to jump. He froze instead. Kurt flinched as soon as he realized he'd done it again. The strange young man cowered a little, bowing back a few steps like some scared pack animal submitting to its superior.

“Bitte verzeih mir—I'm sorry. I didn't know zhat you'd finished vhis zhe professor. I vould have knocked!” Kurt's tail twitched with nerves but he managed to step a little closer, attempting a smile. “I vill knock! From now on, I mean, ah...”

The blue mutant gestured to the other side of the room. “Ve are roommates, ja?”

Loki hadn't failed to notice the other bed and dresser, though it had been so bare of any personal touches that he assumed he'd be free from immediate company. Still, he supposed he could have drawn a shorter straw as far as roommates went. He might have ended up with one of Thor's tag-alongs... As it stood, the odd little demon hadn't given him any reason to dread his company.

“It's fine,” Loki said at last. A quick smile followed, though it dropped away just as fast. He stepped to the side of his suitcases, startling Kurt back again.

Loki's smile was genuine this time, hidden from his roommate's view as he knelt next to the bags. He couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the feeling of intimidating others. But it wasn't quite as satisfying when he was unnerving someone who had actually been properly nice to him, as suspicious as that was.

“I don't bite,” he said with a cool glance over his shoulder.

Kurt seemed encouraged enough by that and was again approaching him. Loki bent to lift one of the larger cases onto his bed, forgetting that it was also filled with mostly books. He faltered, scrawny arms shaking with the task. The bag barely budged. Angry now at such a blatant show of weakness, he shuffled around to get better leverage.

“I can help!” Kurt chirped, immediately scrambling forward to take the other side of the case.

Loki's eyes shot up. “You're _not_ stronger than me.”

Kurt might have scurried off again. The look on his face showed that he wanted to. Instead, he held up his hands.

“No, I'm not very strong,” Kurt smiled. “Ve can lift zhe bags togezher, yes?”

Loki stood straight. He sighed.

“Stand back.”

“Vas?”

Loki didn't want help. “I don't want to hurt you. Stand back.”

Kurt did as he was told, The confusion on his face now trumping the fear. Loki took a breath and waved his hand. One of the bags immediately shot out from the pile and slammed into the far wall, just missing the window, embedding itself a quarter of its length. The German had jumped back a foot, hesitated, and now looked more intrigued by whatever he was seeing than scared. Loki frowned, trying to steady his heart. Light, careful movements were always hardest when he was tense. Whatever was inside of him didn't want to sigh; it wanted to _scream_. He waved his hand again.

This time the bags shimmered, enveloped by a green light, and vanished. Or rather, they disappeared from their former position, and the green light was distracting enough that Kurt didn't notice until he glanced up, smiling, that the contents of the bags had found homes across Loki's shelves, desk, and dresser. There were even a few additional frames on the wall. The bags themselves were stacked neatly in a far corner. The wall was devoid of any damage.

“Wunderbar!” Kurt laughed, pulling his eyes away from the newly-accessorized room and directing them back to Loki. “Like magic! Und zhe vall is back to normal too—did you do it faster zhen I could see, like Peter?”

Loki couldn’t for the life of him recall if Peter was someone whose name he should remember. He suspected he really didn’t care, in any case.

Kurt continued. “Or like Jean, vhis your mind?”

Okay, the name-dropping needed to stop.

Loki shook his head, taking a seat on his bed as the drain of energy hit him very suddenly. He raised a hand to his temple. “The bags and their contents were never where they used to be,” he started, eyes closed. “I altered the parameters of their existence. The things are on shelves and in drawers now. That’s how they’ve always been. I wanted them there, so now they are, do you understand?” Loki looked up to see very clearly from the blue mutant’s vague gaze that Kurt did not at all understand.

Well, Loki couldn’t say he hadn’t tried. He shrugged, bringing his now slightly-trembling hand back to his side. “Anyway… using your mind is rather a given, isn’t it?

Kurt chuckled, averting his gaze in a bashful sort of way. “I zhink maybe I do not use mine enough.”

Loki couldn’t stop the smirk that followed. “I’m sure it takes considerable mind-power to jump through space as you do. I certainly need to concentrate when I do it.”

“Ah, vell yes, I must know vhere I am going. See it in my head, ja? But it is more energy zhen mind und—vait, vait—vhen you do it? You are a _teleporter!?_ ”

Loki smiled.

“In a sense.”

Kurt jumped, hearing the voice come inches from his ear. He turned with a start to see Loki now seated next to him. Whipping his gaze back to Loki’s bed, he confirmed that the other boy was no longer there.

“But… I was talking to you over zhere vhen you…”

Loki laughed as Kurt narrowed his eyes at him. He could practically hear the gears in the blue boy’s head shrieking with the effort. “And now I’m over here as well.”

“As well?” Kurt blinked back again. Loki had returned to his own bed, but also continued to remain seated next to him. A third Loki tapped the blue demon on the shoulder, eliciting a small yelp and an uncontrolled bark of a laugh from original-bed-Loki.

With a wave of his hand, the illusions vanished. The remaining Loki quickly composed himself. “I’m sorry. If it puts your… apparently underused mind at ease, then yes, it’s _magic_.”

Kurt smiled through the shock. Something told him he would soon be overshadowed in his role as the mutant with a knack for startling people.


End file.
